Thursday, May 10, 2012

No crust Quiche or Baked Frittata ?

Now that the writing for my book is towards the end and is at a point-- where I am having the I-want-to-scratch-the-whole-thing-and-start-all-over-again-but-even-then-I-am-going-to-write-the-same-thing-so-we-will-wait-for-the-editor syndrome -- I find myself with some time after 9:30 at night .

Since I keep referring to the book as my third child I must tell you this was kind of similar to the sentiments that swept over me when I was second time pregnant. My first pregnancy was a difficult one and most people in their sane minds who knew me did not think that I would go in for a second haul."Are you crazy?" they suggested in unsaid words. But I dearly, dearly wanted another child. And then the moment I knew it was going to happen--I was dead scared. But eventually everything fell into place and I am very very grateful for my daughters. If I had to do it again I would do it the exact same.

So anyway instead of doing anything worthwhile after 9:30 at night like cooking,tidying up the kids' clothes dresser, making healthy lunches etc. etc. I watch television.I watched reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and then I watched The Big Bang Theory every day last week and in the process I also managed to watch two Bangla movies back to back.

The movies were courtesy a friend and probably we would have never watched if she hadn't insisted, logged into her movie account and started us off on the whole thing. The movies were brilliant. There was a time when Bangla movies were gorgeous in Black&White, Uttam Kumar, Suchitra, Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Madhabi Mukherjee and the works.Then came a brief period where the general situation was pretty bad and it was sheer blasphemy if you watched anything other than Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen or Ritwik Ghatak. Then for the last decade or so I watched only movies made by Rituparno Ghose or Aparna Sen.

In the last two years however things seemed to have improved immensely in the Tollygunje studios or wherever they shoot Bangla movies. I have watched a number of pretty decent movies lately and "Bhooter Bhobishyot" that I watched recently took the cake. Thanks R for finally making us watch it. The dialogues were hilarious, the acting impeccable and the movie was really perfectly funny. The movie comes with subtitles and though the essence of the dialogs may be lost in that try to see if you like it.

The other movie that I watched was Royal Bengal Rahoshyo based on Ray's very popular Feluda series and directed by his son. I had not watched a Feluda movie since the originals(Joi Baba Felunath and Shonar Kella) and was a bit apprehensive but the movie at times reminded me of the master with similar music scores and certain touches. Of course no one can replace the original Lalmohan Ganguly but we make do.

And now to the food which this blog is apparently about. If you have been reading me for a while you know how much I love the egg muffinsthat I learned from Kalyn's blog. I also love a frittata and many days it makes a nice dinner for us. Now combining the two I have started making a baked Frittata kind of thing or say a crustless quiche kinda dish. Since it is super easy and cooks itself in the oven, leaving me time to do what I please I am hooked onto it and try to make it at least once a week. It is really one of those wholesome, healthy and easy dish which you desperately need to bail you out mid-week. The dish is also very flexible and you can add/subtract your own spices/vegetables/what-have-you to make it your own special dish.

Grease a oven proof baking dish with olive oil. Add some sliced onions and halved grape tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt. Toss the onion-tomatoes around so the they have a fine sheen of olive oil.

Put this dish in the oven turned on to 400F. This is my toaster oven setting and will vary for your larger oven. In 10 mins or so the onions will start softening and browning a little as will the tomatoes.

At this point add the vegetables. Here I have added some baby spinach. At other times I have added finely chopped bell peppers or steamed broccoli florets. For the pepper and broccoli you can saute them in a fry pan and then add them to the dish too. Oh, and if you get the bag of onion-peppers from the frozen veggies section it works very well in this dish.

Next tear up a single slice of bread and add it randomly. You can totally skip this step though.

Add some grated Parmesan. And then pour in the eggs. I used a 16oz carton of egg white and it made a thick frittata. You can use whole eggs beaten too.

To spice it up I added garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt. You use your imagination.

Bake at 400F for 25-30 mins. Again this is my toaster oven setting and will vary for your larger oven. Once done check with a toothpick to see that it is cooked through. Now put your oven on broil and broil for about 10 mins to get a crisp surface,

What a lively layered frittata! And boy, I understand what you mean about collapsing on the couch to watch TV. I've been doing the same- neglecting the laundry etc. etc. to watch what else but Big Bang Theory.

I am not a TV person - but read watch in my monitor. I rarely sit after 10 PM in weekdays. We have a new Bengali (actress in Tollywood called Richa)- She is new and her acting performance is brilliant!Baked frittata would be a great kid/mom lunch too :)

Is Tollywood - Tamil hollywood ? Guess what even the Bengali movie studios were called Tollywood, I am not sure, maybe they still do :) My daughters are not exactly fond of this dish when I add too many veggies but this one with spinach and tomatoes they will eat.

Hi Bongmom, I have been following you ardently for quite some time , but have not posted any comments. I love to read your stories/ recipes. One question about the fritatta, can it be done in convection mw?

How do we lookup all these featured recipes as they are not in any of the recipe index ? I remember lot of recipes which were displayed on the first page but couldn't find them later..could you add one index for such recipes and another for baked items ?

I love Quiches so I would prefer to call your Baked Frittata as Crustless Quiche. Am new to the Blogosphere, focus more on Bengali Fusion food as I have to prove to my non-Bengali and non-Indian friends that my Aloo Bhaté is no less than the German Kartoffelpurée. I'll be honest - haven't read much of your recipes before I had started blogging. And when I started blogging I hopped onto your site from Cook like a Bong. You have a very comprehensive blog. And I love your way of story telling - convinces me that nothing is wrong with me when I love narrating stories - blame it on the Bong genes, I guess!

All the very best for your book. I'm sure it will have loads of story to tell just like your blog!

I love Quiches so I would prefer to call your Baked Frittata as Crustless Quiche. Am new to the Blogosphere, focus more on Bengali Fusion food as I have to prove to my non-Bengali and non-Indian friends that my Aloo Bhaté is no less than the German Kartoffelpurée. I'll be honest - haven't read much of your recipes before I had started blogging. And when I started blogging I hopped onto your site from Cook like a Bong. You have a very comprehensive blog. And I love your way of story telling - convinces me that nothing is wrong with me when I love narrating stories - blame it on the Bong genes, I guess!

All the very best for your book. I'm sure it will have loads of story to tell just like your blog!

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine